NEDSO Power Rankings

South Coast is no longer just the team that can break this ranking.

 

They already started breaking it.

 

Coming into the season, South Coast looked dangerous on paper. After May 17th, they looked dangerous on the field. A 3–0 start, 29 runs scored, 28 hits, 22 walks, a .400 team batting average, a .549 on-base percentage, and a .571 slugging percentage is not luck.

 

That is a lineup putting pressure on everybody.

 

Brad Robertson was the tone-setter. He hit .750 with three doubles, five RBI, a 1.125 slugging percentage, and an .818 OBP. That is elite production.

 

Cory Devaney gave South Coast another major weapon by reaching base at an .889 clip. Six walks in three games tells you he was not chasing. He was controlling at-bats.

 

Brendan Aceto brought the damage. Four hits, two triples, six RBI, and a 1.000 slugging percentage gave South Coast the kind of middle-order force every contender needs.

 

Michael Soudakoff and John McCabe both hit .500. David Owens added a .700 OBP with four RBI. Bennett Nocera reached base at a .750 clip. That matters because South Coast did not win with one or two hot bats.

 

They won with depth.

 

This team is not lacking talent.

 

And after May 17th, it is no longer lacking proof.

 

The only question now is consistency. Can South Coast keep this pace when teams adjust? Can they keep getting production from the full lineup? Can they win when the walks slow down, the bats cool off, and the pressure rises?

 

That is what will decide how high they climb.

 

Best Case

 

South Coast keeps the offense rolling; the lineup stays disciplined, and Robertson, Aceto, Devaney, Soudakoff, McCabe, Owens, and Nocera continue to give them production from top to bottom. If that happens, South Coast is not just a dangerous team.

 

They are a championship threat.

 

Worst Case

 

The hot start cools down, teams pitch them smarter, and the bottom of the order becomes easier to attack. If the offense becomes too dependent on walks and big innings, South Coast could come back toward the pack.

 

Truth

 

South Coast proved something.

 

They are 3–0.

 

They can score.

 

They can get on base.

 

They can drive runners in.

 

And right now, they are one of the teams every other roster has to take seriously.

Worcester is not flashy.

 

Worcester is built.

 

The Wrenchmen opened the season 2-1 and walked out of May 17th with a two-game winning streak. After a rough opening loss to South Coast, they responded with back-to-back wins over Pioneer Valley and North Shore.

 

That response matters.

 

Because Worcester did not do it at full strength.

 

CJ Furzland, Ryan Smith-Hastings, and Adam Skwersky were all missing. Those are not small absences. That is leadership, defense, production, and lineup stability sitting out. Worcester was also without important role pieces like Gregory Farber, Rett Jala, and Chris Di Santo.

 

And still, they won two games.

 

That tells you something about the foundation of this team.

 

Joey Walsh was the offensive engine of the day, finishing with a perfect 1.000 average, 1.200 slugging, 1.000 on-base percentage, and 5 RBIs. Hayden Lloyd also stepped up in a big way, hitting .667 with a triple and 6 RBIs. Daniel LeTendre brought steady control with a .600 OBP, while Mike Watson Jr. added power and production with a triple and 4 RBIs.

 

The lineup was not perfect, but it was productive. Worcester finished the day with a .406 team batting average, .563 slugging, .525 on-base percentage, 29 runs, and 24 RBIs.

 

That is a real offensive showing.

 

The biggest surprise, though, may have been the outfield.

 

Dakota Rochette, Nick Mattiace, and Hayden Lloyd did a strong job holding things down. For a team missing Adam Skwersky, that is a major sign. If Worcester can already survive and defend the outfield without him, imagine what this unit can look like when Adam is back in the game.

 

That is why Worcester feels dangerous.

 

They are not complete yet.

 

But they are already winning.

 

Best Case

 

Worcester gets CJ Furzland, Ryan Smith-Hastings, Adam Skwersky, Gregory Farber, Rett Jala, and Chris Di Santo back into the mix. Joey Walsh keeps setting the tone, Watson remains a top-tier threat, LeTendre controls the rhythm, and the outfield becomes even stronger with Adam returning. Worcester becomes a serious threat to finish first.

 

Worst Case

 

The missing pieces disrupt rhythm and chemistry. The offense cools down, the fielding errors become costly, and Worcester stays competitive but does not build enough consistency to overtake Pioneer Valley or South Coast at the top.

Pioneer Valley came into the season looking like the most complete roster in NEDSO.

 

But May 17th changed the conversation.

 

This was not the full Pioneer Valley team. They were missing major pieces, and that matters. Eggy Rivera, one of the players who can change a game with one swing, was not there. Efrain Vazquez was missing. Carlos Hernandez, a valuable role player, was also out. And most importantly, Dale Collette Jr., an MVP-caliber type of player, was not in the lineup.

 

That is not a small loss.

 

That is the kind of absence that changes the shape of a team.

 

Pioneer Valley still battled. They beat North Shore in a tight 11-10 game, then dropped games to Worcester and South Coast. The South Coast loss especially showed how thin the margin can be when the full roster is not available. A 4-3 loss is not a collapse.

 

It is a warning.

 

Even with those missing names, the numbers show Pioneer Valley still has a dangerous offensive foundation. Based on the two scorebooks currently available, the Rivermen hit .429 as a team, reached base at a .597 OBP, and slugged .531. That is not a dead lineup. That is a lineup that still found ways to put pressure on opponents.

 

The problem was not talent.

 

The problem was availability, timing, and finishing.

 

Matthew MacDonald was the clearest standout. He went 4-for-6, hit .667, slugged 1.000, drove in 4 RBI, and added 2 doubles. He gave Pioneer Valley real damage in the middle of the order and looked like the player who answered the call when the lineup was short-handed.

 

Joey Savarese was right there with him. He went 3-for-5, hit .600, reached base at .571, and gave the Rivermen the steady veteran presence they needed. Humberto Ramos also produced, hitting .600 with a .714 OBP, while Andrew Parent reached base every time with a perfect 1.000 OBP.

 

That tells you something.

 

Pioneer Valley did not look broken.

 

They looked incomplete.

 

There is a difference.

 

Mike Miller, Matthew MacDonald, Joey Savarese, Humberto Ramos, Andrew Parent, Michael Parent, Sean Barry, Robert Bibisi, Jay LaRose, and the rest of the group gave Pioneer Valley enough to stay competitive. But the absence of Dale, Eggy, Efrain, and Carlos took away the full weight of what this roster is supposed to be.

 

When Dale returns, the whole lineup changes. When Eggy is back, opponents have to pitch differently. When Efrain and Carlos are available, the depth gets stronger and the pressure does not fall on the same few bats.

 

Pioneer Valley’s ceiling is still high.

 

But after May 17th, they cannot stay at number one on reputation alone.

 

They are still dangerous.

 

They are still talented.

 

But now they have to prove they are still the team everyone thought they were.

 

Best Case

 

The missing pieces return, Dale gives them an MVP-level presence, Eggy adds power, Efrain and Carlos strengthen the depth, and Pioneer Valley settles back into being one of the hardest teams to beat in NEDSO. With MacDonald, Savarese, Ramos, and the Parent brothers already producing, this team could become dangerous fast once the full roster is available.

 

Worst Case

 

Attendance becomes the issue. The roster looks great on paper, but the key players are not always there. The offense still gets on base, but without the full lineup, they struggle to finish games. They stay competitive, but the league catches up faster than expected.

North Shore is not being judged only by the standings.

 

They are being judged by pressure.

 

The Anchors opened the season at 0–3, but the record does not tell the whole story. This team did not look dead. It looked unfinished. North Shore scored 24 runs across three games, collected 28 hits, drew 25 walks, and still finished the opening tournament without a win.

 

That tells you something.

 

The offense has life. The problem is timing, defense, and consistency.

 

Chris Marchese gives North Shore a legitimate high-impact piece. Through three games, he hit .833 with a .889 on-base percentage, five hits, five runs, two RBIs, and a 1.000 slugging percentage. That is not just production. That is tone-setting. Every time he steps into the box, North Shore has a chance to shift the game.

 

Ryan Whittemore also gave the Anchors a strong opening statement, hitting .625 with five hits, five runs, two doubles, and a .700 on-base percentage. Jorge Larva was another bright spot, batting .667 with four hits and three RBIs. Phillip Bennett added four hits, a double, and a .625 on-base percentage, while Nick Elgers brought extra-base impact with a double, a triple, and three RBIs.

 

There are pieces here.

 

Brian Minch showed patience with four walks. Darlyn Vidal reached base six times by walk and posted a .778 on-base percentage. Ivan Lenarcic drove in five runs, which led the team. That kind of production matters, especially for a team still trying to find its rhythm.

 

But power rankings are not built on scattered production.

 

They are built on complete games.

 

North Shore’s biggest issue is that the offense has not fully connected yet. The team hit .459 with a .558 on-base percentage, which is strong enough to win games, but the runs did not always come at the right time. The Anchors had traffic on the bases. They had chances. They had innings where momentum was sitting right in front of them.

 

They just did not finish enough of them.

 

The Worcester loss should sting. Worcester played with only nine players and still found a way to beat North Shore, 15–10. That is the kind of result that puts pressure on a team fast. The Anchors fought late, but late offense only matters if there is enough time left to finish the job.

 

Defensively, North Shore also has work to do. Eight fielding errors in three games is too much pressure on any lineup. When a team is already chasing rhythm, extra outs can break innings open. The Anchors have athleticism, but now they need clean softball.

 

That is the difference between being dangerous and being proven.

 

Now North Shore gets its second tournament as the home host.

 

That matters.

 

A home-host tournament gives a team more than games. It gives them a stage. It gives them energy. It gives them a chance to answer in front of their own crowd. North Shore does not need to prove it has talent. The numbers already show that.

 

Now it has to prove it can win.

 

Best Case

 

North Shore uses the opening tournament as a wake-up call. The defense settles down, the lineup starts producing earlier, Marchese and Whittemore continue setting the tone, and the supporting bats turn walks and singles into bigger innings. If that happens, the Anchors can climb fast.

 

Worst Case

 

The inconsistency continues. The bats keep waking up too late, the defense keeps giving away extra outs, and North Shore becomes a team with strong individual numbers but no winning rhythm.

 

Bottom Line

 

North Shore is not out of the fight.

 

Not even close.

 

The Anchors have hitters. They have athletes. They have on-base ability. They have players who can change games.

 

But pressure matters.

 

Right now, North Shore is a talented 0–3 team still looking for proof. Their second tournament gives them the home-host stage to change the conversation, clean up the mistakes, and show the league that the Anchors are more dangerous than their record.